The impressive Missouri State Bicentennial Quilt and the Missouri 4-H Quilt were just two of the highlights of the Fayette Peacemakers Quilt Show on July 31 in the sanctuary of Linn Memorial United Methodist Church. More than 140 quilts filled the church with an awe-inspiring display of color and creativity. Many visitors commented on the amount of thought, work, and love that had gone into the creation of each quilt, and on the variety and intricacy of the designs used by the quilters. The display included quilts that had been created in the 1800s as well as quilts that were just completed last week.

The State Historical Society of Missouri and Missouri Star Quilt Company, in partnership with the Missouri State Quilters Guild, teamed up to create the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt which is made up of 120 six-inch square blocks submitted by Missourians. Each block represents one of the Missouri Counties. Peacemaker Jo Rohr pieced the block representing Howard County. A slide show of the individual blocks and the counties they represented helped guests locate their home counties in this magnificent quilt. 

A goal of the Peacemakers for the show is to raise money for the Fayette Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry.

Thanks to the wonderful support for the show, they will be able to present a check to the Food Pantry in the next few weeks. Another goal is to share the beauty of quilting with the community and to provide quilters with a beautiful venue in which to show their work to others.

In addition to organizing an annual quilt show, the Peacemakers also make quilts for the national Quilt of Valor program. They were able to display some of the 57 Quilts of Valor which they have presented in a special Quilts of Valor display in the back of the church.

The Market Place, manned by Peacemaker Connie Shay, featuring Christmas ornaments, pincushions, placemats, and other quilted items such as dish towels and quilt magazines, did a lively business throughout the show.

The Peacemakers would like to thank everyone who helped to make the Peacemakers Quilt Show a success including those who helped set up and take down the show, those who exhibited quilts, and those who attended. “We had more volunteers helping us this year than we have had at any of our past shows and we are extremely grateful for the help,” commented Peacemaker Dorothy Jean Ayres.

In addition, the Peacemakers would like to thank Commercial Trust for donating funds for the booklet, the congregation of Linn Memorial and Central Methodist University for allowing them to use the sanctuary, the Fayette Advertiser for providing coverage of the event, and the Missouri Bicentennial Committee for sharing the Bicentennial Quilt exhibit.